Following a thrilling 10th season of Formula E, Jaguar TCS Racing has claimed its first Formula E Teams’ World Championship title, with the British racing outfit writing a new chapter in its storied motor-racing legacy. We had the privilege to chat to Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Motorsport and Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal James Barclay about what this historic win means for the team.
Image: Jaguar
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Jaguar’s motorsport heritage is illustrious. The British marque has been competing in international motorsport for more than seven decades. Jaguar claimed its first victory in motorsport in 1950 when British rally driver Ian Appleyard and co-driver Patricia Lyons, his wife and daughter of Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons, claiming victory at the challenging Alpine Rally. (Noteworthy, Appleyard and Lyons would repeat this feat in 1951 and 1952, making them one of only three teams to, by achieving three consecutive victories, claim the Coup d’Or.)
Since then, myriad chapters have been written about Jaguar’s victories in a variety of motorsport disciplines, most notably endurance racing. However, since Jaguar, with the Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-12, claimed the World Championship title in the 1991 World Sportscar Championship, a new chapter in the company’s World Championship-winning history would remain unwritten… Until now.
With a clear focus on the future, in 2016, the firm made its return to international motorsport when Jaguar TCS Racing, under the leadership of South African-born Team Principal James Barclay, entered the ABB FIA Formula E Championship and was determined to add a Formula E World Championship title to its motorsport legacy. Speaking to CAR magazine, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Motorsport and Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal James Barclay said, “When we started this race programme, we realised those moments of success were becoming older. The pictures were becoming a bit more grainy. It was great to talk about the past … But what we wanted to do is talk about the now and the future.”
Related: Jaguar TCS Racing Clinches Season 10 Formula E Title in Thriller
Image: Jaguar
Now, eight years after entering the pinnacle of all-electric motor racing, the British racing outfit has achieved what it set out to do since its inaugural season in Formula E. After more than three decades, Jaguar has again put pen to paper and written a new chapter in its rich racing history — “Jaguar TCS Racing claims its first Formula E Teams’ World Championship title”.
Speaking about what Jaguar TCS Racing’s maiden Formula E Teams’ World Championship means to the team, Barclay said, “What is really rewarding is that it is Jaguar’s first World Championship win since 1991 in international motorsport. It’s a phenomenal Championship with the world’s best manufacturers, drivers and teams. We have to beat the best with the best, and that’s what we’ve done. For Jaguar to come out on top means we are the best in the world.” Barclay also lauded the Jaguar team involved with this achievement as the best in Formula E.
“It’s a wonderful privilege and honour to have written the new chapter in Jaguar’s story,” Barclay added. However, following this historic victory, Jaguar TCS Racing won’t lay down its pen easily; the company aims to continue adding more chapters to its World Championship title-winning legacy. “The first chapter is up to date since some of those wonderful chapters of the past, and we look forward to writing more,” Barclay concluded about what the victory means for Jaguar.
Image: Jaguar
However, when entering Formula E in 2016, Jaguar Land Rover, a company focused on emissions-free mobility and sustainability, wasn’t only focused on claiming a Formula E World Championship title. “When we started the team back in 2016, one of the things we said is that it [Formula E] will be a proof point, a test bed for the electric-vehicle (EV) tech that will flow into our future cars,” said Barclay.
“The benefit of these all these technologies, everything we do to make our cars faster, also means they are more efficient, and that learning [on what makes them better] means, in the future, we can make our production cars even more efficient, which means we charge them less, which means we pull less off the grid.”
Of course, as the Formula E World Championship-winning I-Type 6’s electric motor and inverter are bespoke to the all-electric race car, the former and latter units won’t be used for future Jaguar road cars. However, the materials used, such as the silicon carbide of the inverter, for these units will flow into series-production models. At the same time, the design philosophy and learnings from the I-Type 6’s hardware and software will be applied to future Jaguar vehicles.
Image: Jaguar
Related: R300m Staging Cost from Government Keeps Cape Town off 2025 Formula E Calendar
The 11th season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship commences on 7 December, 2024, with the first round taking place in São Paulo, Brazil. South Africa is, unfortunately, again not on the race calendar. However, with the Mother City having served as a wonderful backdrop for this all-electric racing event in 2023, Barclay says they would love to have Cape Town back on the calendar.
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The post South African Born James Barclay Steers Jaguar to First Formula E Title appeared first on CAR Magazine.
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